Golf course



L. L. SMART Oct. 31, 1967 GOLF COURSE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5,1964 INVENTOR. Lou/6 L Smor/ H TTORNE VS 06L 1967 1.. L. SMART 3,350,099

GOLF COURSE Filed June 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent3,350,099 GOLF COURSE Louis L. Smart, 3297 Gleubrook Drive, Bay City,Mich. 48706 Filed June 5, 1964, Ser. No. 372,766 1 Claim. (Cl. 273176)This invention relates to golf courses and more particularly to a golfcourse arrangement provided with a building and limited land area tominimize the time required for playing and also for minimizing thewalking required.

One of the prime objects of this invention is to design a golf course ona relatively small parcel of land having a fairway and conventional teesarranged in a special manner which permits more rapid play with aminimum of walking and effort.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relatively small compactgolf course which retains the challenge and excitement of the game, butreduces the high cost of land, buildings and upkeep.

A further object is to design a special golf course which is adapted forboth small communities and large cities, and which is also feasible forsummer resorts, motels, and vacational resorts for either nine,eighteen, or thirty-six hole courses.

Another object of the invention is to provide a commercial type of golfcourse which can be operated on a twenty hour a day basis to accommodatea large number of players, and which is played with regulation balls andclubs requiring the golfer to execute every shot normally required on aregular large size golf course from driving to chipping.

Still a further object is to provide a plurality of green traps locatedon the fairway and into which the golfer drives and chips, each net ofthe green trap into which a ball is driven indicating a certain distanceor number of feet from the hole so that the ball can be accuratelyspotted on the putting green in the building where the putting is done.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consistsin the arrangement of a golf course hereinafter more fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointedout in the appended claim; it being understood that changes may be madein the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, withoutdeparting from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan showing the golf course and the buildmg.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a typical green trap.

FIG. 3 is a top plan View thereof.

FIG. 4 is a detail showing the circular pipe frame and supporting leg.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view through the building.

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the course.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings in which isshown a nine hole golf course which consists of three par fives 450*yards long; three par fours 350 yards long; three par threes 250 yardslong; but it will, of course, be understood that the length of the parcan be shortened or lengthened to suit managements desire.

A suitable building B, constructed in accordance with the invention isprovided on one end of the fairway F, and this fairway is approximately900 feet long and approxi- Patented Oct. 31, 1967 being of a tiereffect, the lay of the ball after the shot determining the position itwill be placed on the green when the golfer enters the building to chipand putt on the inside greens. The golfer does not walk on the fairwaygreens but drives or chips on or as close to them as his skill permits.

There are twelve fairway greens beginning with a first twenty five yardgreen and these greens are suitably marked and identified so that thegolfer may choose the particular green he is driving to or chipping at.Each green trap comprises a plurality of superimposed nets 10, 11, 12,and 14, respectively, said nets being preferably formed of woven net orthe like to prevent water collecting therein and are of variousdiameters, each net being slightly concave and having a centrallydisposed opening 15 which permits the golf ball (not shown), which fallsinto one of the nets, to roll to the center and drop from the opening inthis net through the openings in the nets below, and thence into a ballbarrel 16 or any similar container provided in the ground.

The lowest net 10 is the largest in diameter and comprises a circularpipe frame 17 provided with supporting legs 18 which support it inposition on the ground. The next net 11 is spaced above net 10, it is ofsmaller diameter and comprises a circular pipe 19 supported on legs 20which bear on frame 17, while the next net 12 is still smaller indiameter, it has a circular frame 21 and is also supported on legs 20 asis also the upper small net 14 which has a pipe frame 22, and it will beobvious that any golf ball driven by the golfer which falls into one ofthese nets will roll to the center and drop through the openings 15 inthe remaining nets, and thence into the ball barrel 16 from which theyare removed by an attendant.

The tee-01f is a designated area T somewhat to right center of thefairway, and the golfer hits his drives, using another ball each time,down the fairway for the first three holes. On the first hole he may hitone, two, or three shots, depending on his ability and until he issufliciently advanced to chip. He then plays the second hole until he isready to chip, and the third hole until he is ready to chip. After thegolfer has completed his drives, he or she proceeds to a designated spotC on the left of center portion of the fairway and will chip out thefirst hole, the second hole, and then the third hole, after which he isready to go to the putting greens P located in the building B.

Each specific net of the green trap represents a certain number of feetor distance from the hole and when this distance is determined, theplayer proceeds to the building B, places his ball at the requireddistance from the pin and begins to putt, marking his score in exactlythe same manner as is done on the large conventional courses in generaluse. He first plays the first row of greens marked a, b, and c, andaccording to the card which he has previously marked will position theball in accordance with his chip shots, then putt out the first hole,and after he completes green 0., he advances to b and then 0. When hehasfinished putting and marking his card, he then proceeds to the areagreens marked d, e, and f, and then to greens g, h, and i, and followsthe same sequence. This permits the game to be played faster, with lessphysical effort, and makes it enjoyable in all kinds of weather.

The inside putting greens P will be of a sod nature to insure the bestputting possible, and the area around and between the greens is alsocovered with a sod nature material. The greens will be five feet wideand fifteen feet long or any other size management desires to make thegame more interesting. The weather and golf balls will not affect thegreens so they can be kept in perfect condition.

The building which accommodates the putting greens can be formed of anydesired material suited to the climate where the course is located. Itis provided with a preferably thin plastic roof 23 to admit daylight tothe building, and a door opening 24 is provided in the front wall foraccess to the putting greens. A door opening 25 is provided as shown toprovide access to the office section 0, and a canopy section S extendsacross the front of the building over the tee-01f and chip areas T and Cso that the golfer is always protected from bad weather and sun yet canplay the game at any time.

In areas having warm weather the year around, the building can beeliminated excepting that the canopy section is retained and supportedin any desired manner. On the side facing the fairway there is providedbenches, or other seats X which are protected by the canopy overhang S,and binoculars (not shown) are provided so that the balls can be readilyseen, these binoculars being handled by the golfer or by an employee asdesired.

The office and other accommodations can, of course, be provided ateither end or at the center of the building as desired.

It will, of course, be understood that all necessary hazards, not shownin the drawings, can and will be provided, and under certain conditions,it may be necessary to chip from a sand trap onto the greens forputting.

The balls will, of course, be collected by the employees so that theplay spends no time looking for lost balls, and

,4 the fact that no golfers are on the fairways eliminates thepossibility of injury and permits more players to participate in lesstime.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the objects of the inventionhave been effectively accomplished. While the form of the inventiondescribed constitutes a preferred embodiment, it will be understood thatvarious modifications can be made within the principles set forth.

Iclaim:

A golf course comprising: a fairway; putting greens adajcent thereto; atee near said greens for driving to said fairway, and a plurality ofsimulated greens in said fairway at different distances from said tee;each of said simulated greens comprising a tier of vertically spacedsuperimposed horizontal surfaces of increasing diameter from top tobottom of said tier, said surfaces having golf ball outlet openings invertical alignment, and a ball collection receptacle arranged under saidopenings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,211,379 1/ 19 17 Maisch 27310 51,442,054 1/1923 Dixon 27-3- 103 1,540,350 6/1925 Longnecker 273--1761,851,423 3/1932 Ely "273-176 2,183,107 12/1939 Savage 273-405 2,490,96112/ 1949 Hendry 273-176 2,894,749 7/1959 Rook 273176 3,104,879 9/1963Jetton 273-184 X ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner.

G. J. MARLO, Assistant Examiner.

